Catching Butterflies
by Lady Lithe
Summary: Okay. Breathe. Good, got that down. Okay, so she comes here at about one o'clock. Okay, okay. Pull yourself together! You’re the son of James Potter! On second thought…knowing how long it took for him to get Mom, maybe that's not a such a good thing...


Catching Butterflies

By: Lady Lithe

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, JKRowling does.

Summary: Okay. Okay. Breathe. Okay, good, got that down. Okay, so she comes here at about one right after lunch. Okay, okay. Pull yourself together! You've can do this! You're the son of James Potter for goodness sake. On second thought…knowing how long it took for him to get Mom, maybe that's not such a good thing…

Naru-chan: A parody of all we love. :)

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Catching Butterflies 

_A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. –Chinese Proverb_

Okay. Okay. Breathe. Okay, good, got that down. Okay, so she comes here at about one o'clock. Okay, okay. Pull yourself together! You've can do this! You're the son of James Potter for goodness sake. On second thought…knowing how long it took for him to get Mom, maybe that's not such a good thing…

Well Sirius Black is your godfather! That's _got_ to mean _something,_ right?

Okay, let's check the list again. Glasses? Check. Shirt on? Check. Trousers? Check. Face washed? Check. Teeth brushed? Check. Mint? Check. Whew, all right. You've got this Potter; you've got this.

Now what was the line I'm going to say? Erg! Where did I put it? Not in pockets…not in trousers…not down shirt… Bloody hell! No, no, that's fine. I've memorized it anyway. Just say it. When you see her, just say it. Blurt it out! Err – actually try to be smooth. Got it? Good.

Ah, I can't believe I'm talking to myself in my head like this. This is absolutely ridiculous! But on the other hand, ever since she got into my head she hasn't appeared to show any signs of leaving whatsoever… She's driving me crazy! I mean, come on. This isn't the result of a love potion is it? I'll kill her if it is. But no…she wouldn't do something as low as that… No, she different. She's special. She's…

Erg, did I just sigh dreamily aloud? I glance around the common room while wringing my hands. Good, so far no one has noticed. I'm surprised at how good I am at hiding it!

After all, usually it's so hard for me to get rid of Hermione and Ron. Today, however, it was surprisingly easy. And, yeah, I know, they're my best friends and all but I can't bloody well _tell_ them. No one can blame me. Hermione would give me that _knowing_ look and Ron… well, yes… no need to say much more about that. Like I said, she's different from…well, from Cho for example. Cho was nice and pretty, but she…she's so much more than that. Erg. Must. Refrain. From. Sighing.

Okay, I think that moment passed. Good, very good. Another sigh might have caused Lavender and Parvati to come over here, giggling crazily like they always do and flipping their hair over their shoulders. It's so annoying! But oh…when _she_ giggles…when _she_ does that flipping thing…it's just… wow… you know? Just… wow…

Oh no! I did it! Now they're coming over! Ahhh! What if she comes in and sees me with them? She might get the wrong impression! On the other hand, she'll see that I'm wanted…hmmm…and then maybe she'll consider…

"Harry!" giggles Lavender in her high-pitched voice. "What are _dooooooo_ing?"

She and Parvati are both doing that hair-twisting thing with the batting of the eyelash thing.

"Er, are your eyes okay?" I ask with a bit of worry. Seriously, is something wrong with their eyes? "Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing and get them checked?"

"They're fine, Harry," Parvati smiles slyly, continuing the mad blinking. "Thank you for noticing our eyes though."

"Yes…thank…you…" Lavender says slowly, placing a hand on my chest.

"Erm, y-yeah…no problem?" I stutter.

"So you didn't answer my question." Lavender pouts.

"What question?"

"What were you doing," Parvati supplies.

"Oh. Um, nothing," I say lamely, running a nervous hand through my hair.

"Are you sure Harry? Because I could have sworn you were swooning." Parvati and Lavender nod in unison.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I say, probably a bit too sharply. You see, in my head, it sounded a lot better… and smoother…

I glance eagerly at my watch. What? It's one ten? That means…she didn't come to the common room as usual! No! Now…now what do I do? I hadn't planned this! I mean, I was going to say the line and then she was going to fall madly in love with me and then we'd…I don't know, snog until Monday? I hadn't thought that far. Blimey, what am I going to do now?

I…I know, I'll _find_ her! I mean it's not every day that I work up enough courage to do this. I'm not… well, I know it might be hard to believe, but I'm not always this great with girls.

"S-sorry guys, I've got to run," I say quickly before I make a wild dash toward the portrait hole.

As I leave, I could hear Lavender demanding to Parvati, "Did he just call us _guys_?"

Okay, so now I'm in the hallway. Where to? Left? Right? Okay, try right. Going…going…running… running… I'm not seeing her… Where could she be?

A sudden noise to my left makes me look around, startled. There it is again! I'm not going insane am I? This isn't another humongous snake in the drains problem again, is it? Wait…that broom closet…no, it can't be! She couldn't be in here with some guy could she…? I mean, I know she's become really gorgeous and she's nice and smart and athletic and…but, but she couldn't! She wouldn't! Ah, I can't control myself! I need to know! A quick peek won't hurt…

I slowly open the broom closet and promptly scream like a girl.

"DUMBLEDORE'S BEARD!"

Two other screams join mine. I slam the door back shut, my jaw hanging wide open. Then I turn and make a run for it.

Dumbledore's beard, Dumbledore's beard, _Dumbledore's beard_… I just did not… No, that couldn't have been… I must've been hallucinating! I must be going blind! And if I am not, then I must immediately gouge out my eyes. There's no way that I just saw my two best friends snogging each other's brains out in a closet! They were just fighting like always this morning! It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever! No! I mean, yeah, it's about _time_ they got together but that was just _not_ a sight I wanted to see!

Ugh…no wonder they left me alone today!

I can't believe Hermione and Ron are…snogging…and I still haven't even been able to make my move yet! Does that mean that _Ron_ is smoother than I am? No, it can't be! I better hurry up and find her and make sure the world is right and hell hasn't frozen over.

_Look_! I scream to myself. _Just find her!_ And then I promptly smack myself on the head. I don't need to run around the whole entire school to find her! I have the Marauder's Map! See how stupid she makes me? I can't think straight at all! This is definitely proof! I turn and make a dash for the common room.

"Harry!"

Damn, I think as I skid to a halt, grabbing onto the wall to refrain from falling over. This is _so_ not the right time! Maybe I should continue to run…

"Harry!" she says again, coming over. I restrain myself from sighing out loud. She's behind me now and all I need to do is turn and I'll see her. I'll see her long hair…her wide eyes…her usual sweet smile replaced with a worried frown. I swallow. Great.

"Hi Cho…" I say awkwardly as I slowly turn around. And I was right. You know, about her locks of raven hair, her wide blue eyes, and her frown. "How…how are you?"

"I'm…good, Harry, good," she says rather uneasily. "And…and you?"

"Oh, great," I say with a nervous smile. I run a hand through my hair. "Just great."

"Yes, well…" Her gaze is on the ground now. "I don't…I don't see you around much anymore."

"Can't really be helped, can it?" I say with a frown. She's not trying to put the blame on me is she? "With you avoiding me and all."

"I'm not avoiding you!" she says defensively, but her eyes stay glued to the floor. Her cheeks glow a pretty pink, but I don't feel that old tug in my heart anymore. It's funny. I used to see stars in her eyes… Now I've found stars elsewhere that will never fade.

"No, it's fine, really," I say, trying to assuage her quickly so I can leave. "I mean, after what happened… er, we kind of drifted apart."

"So you're completely okay with this?" she utters quietly, her head bowed.

"Yes," I say with a nod. It is true, since I don't like her that way anymore. At least she won't feel guilty. "I'm perfectly fine."

"You…you jerk!" she screams, tears streaming down her face, and I immediately feel a huge textbook slam into my stomach. I let out a groan in pain as she runs away.

I was only trying to make her feel better! Bloody hell! I clutch my stomach and feel it sting with pain. That's going to bruise… That was totally unfair of her! _She's_ the one who already has a new boyfriend! Ugh!

As I now nurse my wound, I continue on back to the common room. I grimace at the throbbing pain.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor Potter," a wicked and vicious voice says sinisterly.

"_What_?" I exclaim in horror.

"You heard me," Professor Snape stares at me evilly. I glare right back. Who does he think he is?

"I didn't even _do_ anything!" I object crossly.

"Aside from being an arrogant fiend like your father, you were making a distorted face at me," he snarls.

"I wasn't doing it on purpose!" I cry out. Not that I wouldn't have if I had actually seen him coming.

"Liar," he continues to glare at me, his black eyes ablaze. "You need to show your professors some respect!"

He should learn a thing or two about not spitting in people's faces before he preaches about respect!

"Now go, before I give you detention."

I grit my teeth at him, but move along. I really don't have time for this. Thankfully at least today there are no classes. Well, perhaps next time if I weren't so busy I'll just hex Snape… bah, but Professor Dumbledore wouldn't be very pleased…

I can hear the chiming of the clock. That means it's already two o'clock. Jeez, I've been wandering around for about an hour already? Well, I guess that's not that shocking considering that I met Snape, Cho, and –

"Harry!"

Speak of the devil. Or devils.

"Harry, stop running this instant!" demands the most brilliant witch of the century.

"I don't want to!" I cry, continuing to run. I mean, I just don't know how to face them. Plus, I'm _really_ getting sick of all these distractions! I just want to find her and say what I need to say and then she'll… I don't know, fall into my arms? Hopefully she just won't throw a textbook at me like Cho!

"Mate!" Ron screams. "Wait!"

"Look, I'm super happy for you guys! I just need to do something right now!" I moan. This is _not_ the time or place.

"You're lying aren't you?" Damn Ron and his long legs and arms. Somehow he managed to catch up to me and block me just when I got to the portrait hole. The Fat Lady's looking at us with interest now.

"I'm not lying, Ron," I sigh. He's looking at me funny and now Hermione has caught up with him. "I just would have liked you two to have _told_ me is all."

"You're really not upset?" Hermione asks earnestly, her wide brown eyes shining.

"You can be honest, Harry," Ron tells me gruffly. I look at him in confusion. I just told the truth!

"Why won't you believe me?"

"Well…" Hermione looks away. "We…we know Harry."

"Know what?" I demand, and for a second I'm scared that they'll tell me that they know who I have a crush on. Then Ron's going to pummel me all the way to –

"We know you like Hermione, okay?" Ron finally sighs.

Oh Merlin. I think I'm going to be sick.

"You think I _what_?" I cry out incredulously, clutching my nauseous stomach. Hermione and Ron blush and look away. "I – I do NOT like Hermione! I mean, yes, I do, as a friend, but not like _that_! She's more like a sister!"

"Really?" Ron breaks out grinning like a kid who just was given candy. Hermione mirrors this look. They look at me surprised, and I must say, quite relieved. "It's just that, well, you know, there's been so many rumors and at first we didn't believe them and all, but then you started acting all strange again and at the time no one really interesting was around except…well, anyway, so you really are okay with us?

"YES! I like someone else, thank you very much!" I sigh exasperatedly. "Now if you'd just move, I - !"

"Wait, it's not Cho again is it?" Hermione interrupts sharply. "Because after what happened last time, Harry, we really don't think that she's that great."

"Not that we ever have," Ron mutters under his breath.

"_It's not Cho, okay_?" I think I'm going insane. I just want to find my map, find her, and that's all! Is that so much to ask? Must my life always be this chaotic, even with the simplest of wishes? I shove past them to the Fat Lady. "Picklehead!"

"You might want to talk to them a little bit longer," the Fat Lady starts.

Well, I'm not in the mood.

"**Picklehead**!"

"All right, all right," she utters, opening.

I'm so furious with everything's that happened today that I trip and stumble at the entrance.

"Harry."

"BLOODY HELL! WHAT?" I scream and then I stop in my tracks.

Someone kill me now. _Please._

She arches an eyebrow at me and blows away a stray lock of red hair. Her hands are placed at her hips, and her mouth is twisted between a sneer and a smile. "Well, someone sure is in a foul mood."

"N-No, I-I'm so sorry Ginny," I immediately bow my head several times and feel my face flush. _This was not how it was supposed to happen! _The mental image I had in my head consisted of a six foot three tall Harry with a tamed mane of hair blowing in the wind carrying a nimble Ginny in a white toga. And she would be saying something about eternal love…eyes as green as toads…hair as black as a chalkboard…

"Ah, well, it's fine," she smiled before she started toward the portrait hole. "I'll see you around, Harry."

"W-Wait!" I cry out. This is it! This is my chance! This is what I've been planning for all week!

"Yes?" she turns and looks at me, baffled. She'll never know, I think, just how wonderful and beautiful she is.

"H-Hi…Ginny," I say.

"Erm, hi Harry," she said, with the same amused, yet baffled look on her face. Then she turns and waves goodbye.

I sigh contently to myself as my heart roars with triumph. There. I did it. Fantastic. Now next week, maybe I might even strike up some small talk!

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Naru-chan: I hoped you enjoyed that! Surprise ending... heh. ;) I wrote this a while ago and it was just for complete fun and craziness. I was poking fun at things, especailly H/Hr...XD I have nothing against them per se, but...I do hate how they bash so on Ginny:( But I still love Hermione. :) Anyway, I hope you had a good time reading this! 

As for the title, it was Harry chasing after Ginny, but only seeming to catch other bugs. And in the end, the butterfly comes to him... ;)

Review...? Please?


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